Twin 15-month-old girls found dead in Beuvrages, parents held in custody
In the Nord department, near Valenciennes, twin girls aged 15 months were found lifeless in their bedroom. The hypothesis of dehydration is favoured. The parents have been arrested and a judicial enquiry is underway.
Twin 15-month-old girls found dead in Beuvrages, parents held in custody
A family tragedy unfolded on Monday 29 June at a home in Beuvrages, a locality close to Valenciennes (Nord). Two infant twin sisters, aged fifteen months, were discovered lifeless in the room where they slept, on the upper floor of the house. According to initial findings, the ambient temperature there was extremely high. Investigators are seriously considering that the death of the infants resulted from severe dehydration.
The father and mother, aged thirty-five and thirty-two respectively, were arrested and placed in provisional detention by investigators. Meanwhile, the couple's four other children, ranging in age from two and a half to six years old, were placed in the care of hospitals. Their vital prognosis is not at risk.
The neighbourhood where this family lived is in shock. Bouquets of flowers have been laid outside the house in tribute to the two victims. A neighbour expressed her distress: "I pass by every day, I cannot believe it. Having children myself, one wonders how such a thing can happen."
A woman acquainted with the couple indicated to the police that she had noticed in the past a lack of supervision of the children. She reported that the young ones sometimes went long periods without their nappies being changed, being left to fend for themselves.
The forensic examination of the two bodies was to take place Tuesday afternoon to definitively confirm the causes of death. The public prosecutor's office stated that this family was not being monitored by any children's magistrate and no alert had previously been issued concerning their situation.
Judicial proceedings have been initiated for "negligence in care by the parents resulting in the death of children under fifteen years of age". This criminal charge will allow magistrates to investigate further the material and emotional conditions in which the children were living.
Source: franceinfo
Source: France Info